1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a magnetic capture rack and, more particularly to a magnetic capture rack having a slidable magnetic member selectively insertable and removable from a housing of the magnetic capture rack.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, magnetic capture racks have been provided in the art for the purpose of removing magnetic particles from suspension in assaying processes.
Usually, assaying takes place with batches of test tubes placed in a rack and a separation step occurs by aligning individual test tubes with the magnets. This step of alignment requires handling of the plurality of test tubes, usually in unison, or handling of the magnets with respect to the test tubes. Movement of the test tubes can be problematic, however, particularly due to the fragile nature of the test tubes. Also, when filled test tubes are moved, splashing of the contents will occur, possibly causing cross-contamination between test tubes, or contamination of an operator. Further, handling of the magnets can reduce the magnetic strength thereof and it is thus the practice in the art to reduce or eliminate the handling of the magnets with respect to the plurality of test tubes. This difficulty in handling either of the test tubes or the magnets poses a problem in the art which is solved by the present invention. The present invention is particularly intended for use in an assaying process such as that disclosed in European Patent No. 0 605 003 A2 published on Jul. 6, 1994 and incorporated herein by reference.